This Charter "established an International Military Tribunal . . . for the just and prompt trial and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis." (Art. 1.) The Charter is the constitutive document for the Tribunal, specifically defining the crimes within its jurisdiction, the investigative and prosecutorial principles, and the powers of the Tribunal. It was appended to the Agreement for the Prosecution and Punishment of the Major War Criminals of the European Axis.

Government of the United States of America, the Provisional Government of the French Republic, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics